Shawn Hill runs near her home in Farmington Hills on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013. / Rob Widdis/Special to the Free Press

Other cities, big and small, have women-only running events. So, why not Detroit?

That question weighed on runner Mary Culbertson’s mind, and she decided to do something about it.

Culbertson, 38, of Saline joined forces with Epic Races, a female-owned company in Ann Arbor that plans sporting events. The result is the inaugural Detroit Women’s Half Marathon and 5K, which is scheduled for Sept. 22 on Belle Isle. The race is designed to encourage women to get fit, have fun and focus on their health.

“Many women tend to feel more comfortable and more willing to try something like this when it’s mostly other women,” says Culbertson. “You can be fast. You can be slow. It doesn’t matter.

“There’s a bond that develops from women running together.”

The upcoming event will raise money for the American Heart Association, in large part because there is much work to do to address heart disease, the No. 1 killer of women. Here is further evidence — statistics gathered by the Go Red For Women campaign — on why the upcoming fund-raiser is vital:

■ An estimated 43 million women in the U.S. are affected by heart disease.

■ Ninety percent of women have one or more risk factors for developing heart disease.

■ Women comprise only 24% of participants in all heart-related studies.

“My grandma passed away from congestive heart failure in January of 2012,” says Culbertson, who began planning the half marathon in January.

More than 1,000 women have registered so far, and there’s a 1,500-person cutoff.

Although it’s geared toward women, men can sign up.

“We just ask that they wear skirts,” she joked.

Read further to meet three women who plan to race on Sept. 22.

Birth of a runner

Her baby saved her life.

Kristin Byrne of Shelby Township didn’t know there was a hole in her heart until she was pregnant with her first child.

Her blood pressure shot up — not too unusual with pregnancy. But it stayed up well past the delivery of a healthy baby girl, a sign that something was wrong.

Tests revealed the abnormality in Byrne’s heart that had been there and slowly getting worse since her birth. If baby Taylor hadn’t triggered the spike in blood pressure, causing doctors to perform open heart surgery, Byrne’s life would have been cut short.

The health scare changed the direction of her life, says Byrne, 38. She and her husband, James, both automotive engineers, decided that she would become a stay-at-home mom.

Almost not having your life makes you re-evaluate what’s important in life, she says.

“I also became more conscious about wanting to make sure I’m staying as healthy as possible,” says Byrne, who became an avid runner after recovering from heart surgery.

She has since run several half marathons, including the Detroit Free Press/Talmer Bank Marathon, and did her first full marathon at Disney World in January.

Now she’s looking forward to the first Detroit Women’s Half Marathon.

“First, I’m excited because it’s running and also because it’s drawing attention to women’s heart health,” Byrne says. “As soon as I learned about it, I said, ‘I’m there!’ ”

Byrne even talked a couple girlfriends who have never run a half marathon into joining her.

“There’s something very encouraging and affirming about an all-women’s event,” she says. “There’s a lot of camaraderie as women cheer each other to keep going. You’ll hear women out there running and calling out to other women, ‘Keep going! Come on! You’re doing great!’ ”

The baby who called attention to Byrne’s heart problem is now 10 years old and has two younger brothers, Nathan, 8, and Troy, 4.

Byrne advises anyone planning to do this half marathon or any other athletic event to make it a personal journey.

“There’s always going to be somebody who’s faster, stronger, looks more fit; it doesn’t matter,” she says. “Each one of us has to accomplish our own goal. Each one of us has something to be proud of, and we need to embrace that in ourselves as women.”

40 and fit now

A funny thing happened earlier this summer.

Jennifer Schwartz and her 10-year-old, Ryan, had a water gun fight and she came out dry!

“Normally, I’d end up completely wet,” says Schwartz. “But I actually chased him around the house this year. And he’s looking at me like, ‘What!?’ And I’m, yeah, ‘Mama can keep up now!’ ”

Flash back to the beginning of the year.

Schwartz couldn’t run from her house down the driveway, about 150 feet.

The get-serious, get-healthy trigger for Schwartz? She turned 40 in December.

“We all have those points in our life where you look at yourself and ask: Where are you going?” she says. “I’d been gaining 2 to 3 pounds every year, which isn’t a big deal until you look up and realize it’s been 10 years.”

And in addition to Ryan, another son, Jamie, 18, and her husband, D.J., she had special reason to refocus on her health. Schwartz has worn a pacemaker since she was 26 because of an irregular heartbeat.

Schwartz began training for her first 5K in March, following an online couch-to-5K program. She recalls how she felt immediately after completing her first 5K with Ryan in May.

“I was angry and grumpy,” she says. “I hate running.”

But less than an hour later it dawned on her how much she had accomplished.

“I knew where I’d come from. I couldn’t run around the house without being out of breath. And I knew if I continued running and getting in better shape, it would become easier,” she says.

“Running has helped me lose weight, but more important it has helped me lose weight and be in better shape. You can starve yourself and lose weight. Losing weight doesn’t mean you’re in better shape.

“I feel a lot better. I have more energy. I’ve lost 15 pounds and people tell me my face looks brighter,” she says.

Setting an example

Shawn Hill runs for her father.

Anthony Motley died in 2008 of a massive heart attack at his home, with her two daughters in another room. He was 59.

She runs for those two daughters, Monae Fife, 16, and Jordyn Hill, 11.

“My motto is ‘happiness is a choice,’ ” she says. “Living healthy, being a good example for my girls makes me happy.”

And she runs for herself. “It gives me peace of mind.”

Hill, 41, has been on and off various exercise regimens for years. She decided to get serious about her health after going through a divorce in December.

About that same time she connected with a group called Sisters Tri-ing (www.sisterstriing.com/), part of a national network of women that promotes triathlons, especially among African-American women.

She started running on a treadmill in her Farmington Hills home until the weather rose above 40 degrees; then she devised a 4-mile route around her neighborhood.

“I started running in January to finally do something for me,” she says. She’d like to do a triathlon before she turns 50.

The Martian Marathon in April in Dearborn gave her a goal to work toward. She ran her first half marathon there despite injuring her ankle near the start.

“I tell my daughters all the time, ‘We’re warriors; we can do anything.’ So I kept running, telling myself, ‘I’m a warrior.’ ”

Now she’s working toward her second half marathon and is especially pleased that the Detroit Women’s Half Marathon focuses on heart disease.

Though she has never been overweight, heart disease and obesity run in her family and is prevalent among African Americans.

“I know I can get much bigger because it’s in my genes,” she says. “I know I love to eat so it’s a slippery slope. Running helps keep the weight down and the stress away.”